Nam Kyung-pil Visits Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport… Swift Actions to Secure Government Funding and Resolve Key Issues

Nam Kyung-pil, governor-elect of Gyeonggi Province, visited the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 27th and met with Minister Suh Seung-hwan to propose support for regulatory rationalization for balanced development in Gyeonggi and institutional improvements such as full implementation of standing bans on express intercity buses.

The governor-elect first noted that northern Gyeonggi, despite sacrifices for national security and water source protection, remains underdeveloped with weakened self-sufficiency due to being tied to the Seoul metropolitan area. He proposed easing Seoul metropolitan regulations including exclusion of northern Gyeonggi regions (Yeoncheon and Gapyeong) from metropolitan restrictions, and enactment of special laws for Ansan and Jindo support to help restore communities in Ansan, whose regional economy has been devastated by the Sewol ferry disaster.

He subsequently requested ▲government funding of 3.8 billion won to resolve financial difficulties in the transportation industry caused by the express intercity bus standing ban implementation and conversion of bus financial support projects to national treasury subsidy projects ▲revision of shared housing piloti authorization standards to allow use as resident shared facilities ▲active review of 99 projects worth 3.98 trillion won under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's purview out of 652 applications totaling 7.39 trillion won in government funding applications for 2015.

Additionally, he requested early commencement of the connection line between the Gyeongbu Line (Seojeongni Station) and the Seoul Metropolitan Express Railway (KTX, Jije Station) for KTX departures from Suwon Station.

In response, Minister Suh promised active review and cooperation, and particularly expressed strong sympathy for the utility of the project connecting Seojeongni Station and Jije Station, according to Nam's representatives.

After completing his meeting with Minister Suh, the governor-elect directly visited major departments of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport including the Planning and Coordination Division, Transportation and Logistics Division, and Road Policy Division to explain the necessity of government funding support.

Governor-elect Nam Kyung-pil stated, "Going forward, I will strengthen communication by directly engaging in areas requiring cooperation with central government ministries and the National Assembly," and emphasized, "I will concentrate provincial administrative capacity as the top priority to conduct field-oriented administration and resolve residents' inconveniences."